Brant S. Fagan SOC

Gents-- This sounds to me like an issue of the two posts moving "independently" of one another. Have you tried telescoping out the inner post and listening for noises? I'll wager that the inner post is moving as you tilt the sled. When two pieces of carbon fiber tubing are slid together but do not have perfectly round mated surfaces, there will most likely be some friction which reveals itself as a creaking noise of some kind. Of course, I could be wrong and it's your shoe/sock combination.

Gents-- I built up my own from the Cramped Attic part, and some pieces cut from an old PCS battery case, about a year before the Omnishot made it to market. Very pleased all around. Fully charged Sony M series batteries last around 8 to 10 hours depending on how the ACs run the PCS handunit.

I wonder if these "Happy Owners" have "Steadicam®" tattoos in English as a tramp stamp or whatever to look "Western"...

Janice-- email me off-Forum about those RED connectors for your cables, please.

And to go with that insurance policy, you should photograph each and every item in your kit and list them accordingly with your agent. They have no idea what many, if not all, of these items are much less what their functions are. As you lay out the items, you will realize what else you need to buy, build, or design to complete your kit. My basic advice: get what you can afford to start and handle basic jobs in your market and upgrade as time and cash flow allow. Build connections with other operators in your area for rentals, backups and advice. Chances are, you might not need the most complete package to get started, but once out there, the needs go up dramatically with the workload.

What sort of gear are you looking for? Why not bring yours?

The latest version of AntlersV3 is what you saw in Jerry's thread. Each set comes in at just under 5 pounds. No dovetail plate is included in those sets or brand new units either; that custom part was used just for display purposes.

Gents-- AntlersV3® are in stock and ready to ship upon receipt of funds. They are actually quite easy to get ahold of if you just do some research here on the Forum. I can be reached through the Forum or via email at mst@brantsfagan.com. If you choose to make your own, Jerry Holway, the inventor of the Antlers®, and I, would appreciate that you not refer to them as Antlers®. Given the amount of machine work involved in producing this device, the cost is actually quite reasonable when you consider what is really involved. Make your own? Go right ahead. Call them Antlers® and sell them as such, we ask that you do not.

I found the original style tools sold with the early sleds, the Vaco brand, has been bought by Klein Tools which is a great brand of solid tools. Best source is MyToolStore.com. They let you buy individual pieces or the set, each in two lengths. Check out their listings for the ball driver sets as well. Best selection I have found anywhere! Remember, he who finishes the race with the most tools, wins! Just don't tell your wife about them!

Come on, gents, that's the new output connector for the Canon 5D/7D DSLR monitoring setup!

Folks-- I made up a batch of these last Summer and have one left in stock. Cost is US$175. plus shipping. Drop me a line at brant@brantsfagan.com.

Gents-- Have you checked your battery attachment plates for slop? Good place to look for a source of movement and therefore vibration.

Brooks-- You may want to check out the Anton/Bauer QR-Hot Swap product. I used it on a feature last summer and found it to be a great solution to the "suicide cables" that seem to percolate to the set out there. Any questions, just drop Paul Dudeck a line and he can answer all the questions.

Gene was and always will be a great friend. His mother had suffered a fall and took seriously ill. Gene had moved in and took over her care back then which was around the time Lauren pointed out. Don't know any of the details but things were serious enough to consume his time and energy. Wish we could all contact and reconnect but we each must follow our own path and calling. Gene, I know you have lurked here in the past. Come on out and let us know you still are out there. We all miss you.

Steve-- Email me off board at mst@brantsfagan.com if you still need to replace your Dovetail Grabber.

Ladies and Gents-- Complete AntlersV3 units are now shipping!! Three units left my place today even though we have received 18" of new snow and expect 2"-6" more today and tonight. Two more will ship later this week. Get them while they are here! Order your BEFORE the night before a windy, long lens job lands in your lap! If you have any questions, drop me a line at mst@brantsfagan.com.

Gents-- For holding round things on round things, nothing beats a pair of shaft collars, either one- or two-piece collars in either steel or aluminum. I use Reid Supply for parts like this as they have a great selection of sizes and material types. www.reidsupply.com

Folks-- Here's a system that's mocked up and just needs some clamp screws to complete it. If your parts mate up with the Tiffen and GPI topstages, then our dovetail grabber will accept your plates. We also have an adaptor that allows the use of the smaller Flyer-type dovetail plates so you can reap the benefits of this "full-size" system. Come and get 'em!

Here's some of the parts. I am still assembling components so tomorrow I will have a completed unit to display.

Ladies and Gents-- Jerry Holway and I are proud to announce the completion of the latest production run of Antlers V3! The new version is an upgrade in that we reduced the number of parts and made more captive components. We streamlined the weights. We made it more adjustable and added side-to-side capability at the dovetail grabber to riser interface. Units are being assembled as I write this and should be ready to ship in a couple of days. Cost for the AntlersV3 is US$950.00. Since our last production run, materials costs have skyrocketed both for aluminum and steel as well. We have tried to keep costs down by all means possible. As usual, we are accepting checks drawn on US banks for our domestic customers and PayPal plus a transfer fee of US$42.00. That is less than the fees charged during wire transfers. We will ship upon funds in our account. We ask that those customers who wish to use our PayPal option to please use the email here: mst@brantsfagan.com for the PayPal transaction. If you have a FedEx account, we are happy to use your account but still need all relevant address information to make shipping quotes. Pictures will be posted shortly. If you have specific application questions, please email me at brant@brantsfagan.com. Orders taken on a first come, first served basis and quantities are limited so please do not delay if you are interested.

Mark's point about the deductible is perhaps the most important aspect of understanding what the Producer's policy is actually covering. I am modifying my Deal Memo after placing this post! Keep in mind that the COI (Certificate of Insurance) does not give you ANY legal rights or privileges as it just announces to the bearer that the listed parties have a policy in place. If you have any doubts just call the agent or carrier to confirm. What's a five minute phone call against replacing your gear either on your plan or theirs? Pictures speak volumes as we all well know. I am in fact taking photos of all the cases and contents to place "faces with names" for the unknown that may never happen. Keeping those current and in at least two different locations helps spread the odds. You can never have enough backup! I think Ted used to say that.

This does sound some shows I've been on...'round and 'round the enclosure. No real clarity from the top down. And I am sure they didn't fight for 12 on and 12 off, much less argue for an above scale rate! Doesn't it seem that we are already viewed as such by some?

Ron, Ron...Always thinking of yourself first! How about offering some to the director when they ask about "touching" the post?

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